Holidays and Hurricanes....

Porlock

Well that’s the holiday over and done with! How come it takes forever to arrive and then flies by at the speed of light?

We have had a pretty good week down in Devon. Things didn’t get off to the best start when the remains of Hurricane Bertha were due to wreak havoc on our first weekend. Typical. Weeks of tropical sunshine, we go away and BOOM – Hurricane! Luckily the worst of it passed through early morning and it didn’t cause much damage where we were. Also, looking on the bright side, our rented apartment had fantastic views directly over Ilfracombe harbour and so we would have had the best seat in the house for any spectacular weather related adventures. The rest of the week ended up being mostly sunny with a few showers but nothing to cry about.

Verity and the rainbow

This little chap was near our apartment.

Our week passed in a whirl of walking (lots of it), eating (also lots of it) and doing touristy things. We made a list on the first day and by the end of the week we had crossed most things off. Eaten lobster on the beach? Yep! Coastal walks, ice cream, beaches, collecting shells and seaglass, corn mill visit, Lynton and Lynmouth, cream teas and cycling. In fact the only thing I got voted against was the trip to Watermouth Castle. We have been before and yet no one else seemed excited by a return visit to GnomeLand and the dodgy mannequins in the castle itself. I consoled myself with a visit to Ilfracombe Museum – a really odd little place with all manner of weird things (two headed kitten anyone?). The children had fun pointing out all the things we already had at home. It made me happy!

Collecting stuff from the beach

The cycling was actually a highlight of the trip. We hired bikes and cycled the Tarka Trail from Barnstaple to Torrington (approx 14.5 miles) AND BACK! DH learned a valuable lesson before we started the ride. Namely I am rubbish at directions and they had all left me to take directions from the bike hire bloke on how to get onto the trail. In fairness it involved more than one instruction and I kind of lost concentration after this one. I tried my best but we did set off in the wrong direction and spent the first 15 mins cycling up a huge hill that proved unnecessary! 

As close as we got to Torrington

Instow signal box - pretty obvious really!

Forgiveness eventually followed and we set off in the correct direction. The T Trail is along a disused railway and so is pretty flat and easy going. You get fabulous views over the Taw estuary and all the wildlife on the mud flats and salt marshes. Along with that you get to see some pretty places and some remains of railway stuff too.

Overlooking the Taw Estuary

Torrington was the scene for a battle in the Civil War in 1646. I won’t pretend to sound knowledgeable about this period of history but basically the Parliamentarians under General Fairfax whooped the arse of the Royalists under Lord Hopton. The battle came to a climax when 70 barrels of gunpowder got blown up in the church killing lots of people.  Sadly I didn’t discover any of this stuff until afterwards and so we didn’t venture into Torrington itself, staying at the old railway station for tiffin and much needed tea!

The week ended with that old tradition, fish and chips on the harbour. Dodging seagulls and coats firmly buttoned against the wind we battled the wooden forks and flapping paper. Next day we packed up and headed home – the fun of the M5 gently thrusting us back into real life once more!

Still – only 11 weeks til I’m off to Egypt with DD. Bet I still won’t get to see any Gnomes there either :(

Le Tour in London.

Apparently there was an 'Event' happening in London!

It’s been almost a week since we attended the greatest cycling show on Earth. Between then and now there have been thrills and spills, big names are out, places are being fought out and last Monday seems a bit like a distant dream!

So, Le Tour was always part of my childhood Summer family viewing – the only sporting event that we ever followed. I kind of lost touch a bit in the early 1990’s but regained the passion and have been faithfully following it each year from the armchair! Every year we would say ‘we MUST go and actually see it in real life!’

Free yellow caps? Check!

Well, you can hardly have failed to notice that this year the Grand Depart was in the UK, starting in Yorkshire and finishing Day Three in London. No excuse not to join in this time then! DS#1, DD and I decided we would do it.... cue lots of studying of the route, checking out tips and hints. Should we find a less busy place to view en route? Should we brave the very centre of London itself? Fan Park (with giant screen and added entertainment but not seeing the actual action itself) or roadside viewpoint in the capital (lots of waiting for 30 seconds of action)? In the end we decided to go with the flow – make our way to London on the morning and scope out the possibilities.

We left Oxford at a most unsociable hour but it meant we beat most of the rush hour traffic into the capital and managed to have time for a cooked breakfast to set us up for the day. We followed the route until we reached The Mall where the finish line was to be. I have never been so excited! All the lorries and TV equipment was there in place, the gantry over the finish line which they were busy painting onto the road (the actual TdF finish line!!) and the podium was set up.... people were beginning to bag spots and so we had decisions to make. The podium had TV screens which were to show the day’s action and it was placed just along from the finish line. We figured from this point we would see everything... so we settled in for the day. Hiring a couple of deckchairs from the Park Keeper was the best decision ever. Comfort and a way to keep the crowds from squishing us. There were even portaloos and stalls close by.

 

Yes, the actual finish line!

Any worries that 6 hours would drag by were soon dispelled. There was plenty to keep us entertained. Greg Lemond and Chris Boardman wandering past, freebies from the sponsors, cheers for the different vehicles and people going past. At last the famed Publicity Caravan rolled through. This is a colourful parade of floats and decorated cars from the sponsors. To be fair most of them looked pretty tired by this point but they gamely waved and grimaced at our excited cheers!

Not sure if the Skoda creature has a name - we cheered anyway.

Miffy! On a car! My favourite of the Caravan.

You can't quite see them - but the cyclists are coming!

Then – the TV announced there was 10km to go – the whole atmosphere changed. The deckchairs had to go and it all got a little bit close and squished. The excitement was building, the riders were getting closer, the squishing got more....squishy. Cameras were out, no one could see what they were photographing but it was all very thrilling.... the riders rounded the last corner and into the straight for the chase to the line..... it couldn’t have been more squished or exhilarating... who would win? It was all so fast I didn’t even hear! Then they flashed past us, close enough to touch, 30 seconds and it was over!

Being where we were meant we got to see everything after that flash too. Marcel Kittel (the stage winner) walked back past, as did the other jersey winners. Vincenzo Nibali in yellow, Peter Sagan in green got huge cheers, not least for his Wolverine hair. We stayed to see the jersey presentations, cheered the winners and watched in amazement as the stage was literally dismantled while the cyclists were just leaving it.

 

Then they zoomed through....

I was this close to Marcel Kittel :)

Vincenzo Nibali gets yellow

Peter Sagan in green. Hair hidden in cap!

We gently headed back to the bus stop, while all around us the barriers and roadblocks came down and the capital returned to normal life. The excitement was over....... Maybe next time we'll go and do it again but in France.... now that WOULD be a road trip!

And it's all over.....

Things I Have Seen This Week

I've had a pretty busy week at work – lots of training and off site visits. Being out and about has allowed me to witness some very interesting people- I do like to people watch when I get the chance (not in a weird stalkery way you understand!)

Here’s my Top 5 interesting sightings of the week :) 

5. Possibly the world’s oldest paper-boy. I'm sure there are plenty of older people out there delivering papers each and every morning with cheer and enthusiasm but this particular gentleman appeared to be taking the label of ‘paper-boy’ a bit too seriously. He was dressed as a 10 year old boy, shorts and all, cap at a jaunty angle, trainers, bag slung at a nonchalant, knee knocking height. Sadly he wasn't riding a Chopper bike but it looked like he might have been saving up his paper round money for one!

4. A monk with the best beard in town. Apparently monks are not a rare sight in this particular area of Oxford but being a mere village girl I had not come across one before! He looked very cool and flowing in long grey robes (or whatever the technical term is for monks clothing) but most fascinatingly he had a splendid beard, truly, wonderfully splendid! It was long and bushy and really quite huge. I wanted to stop the minibus and stroke it. I'm not sure what beard etiquette would say about that?

3. Where’s Wally x2. I did have to look twice at these ladies. I assume they were raising money for some worthy cause. They were walking alongside a main road, seemingly miles from the nearest inhabited area both dressed as Where’s Wally and doing it three legged. In the rain. With a bucket. They didn't look particularly happy about the whole thing. I'm not sure if they were lost or just on an epic journey. I wondered what might happen if they had an argument – would they see it through, stomping three legged and ignoring each other or would they call it a day and untie the bonds, leaving their sponsors to ask “Where’s the other Wally?”

2. It did rain a lot this week and I felt very sorry for the young lad who was out on his bike in a torrential downpour. I'm sure he was a lot happier to ride in the rain that I would have been but his face didn't reflect it. Still, he was bravely peddling on with water streaming down his face, hair plastered and clothes dripping and looking like he could not get any wetter - and then some total git in a 4x4 drove straight through a puddle...... I would have cried at this point. Instead, and all due respect to the lad, he did manage a magnificent hand gesture towards said driver. I cheered!

1. My favourite sighting of the week may have been a mirage. I did pass by on the opposite side of the road at a reasonable pace. But what I think I saw was an old lady on a bike in a long black wig dressed as a pink fairy. I mean complete with wings, tutu, crown and everything! Was she heading to a fancy dress party? Was this just a normal days clothing choice for her? Was she, in fact, a real fairy? I choose to believe the last one...fairies are real!

No Corny Bicycle Related Titles Here!

Taken when I first got the bike - note lack of grey hair (me) and square basket (bike)

Ah, Spring is definitely in the air – the days are longer and warmer and there are bikes out everywhere!

I have a love/hate relationship with cycling. My Dad is ace at it, one of my brothers has recorded some pretty nifty time trial results in his time and I have spent many an evening watching both real life racing and getting into the thrill of Le Tour (the Channel 4 theme music is legendary!). However, I have come to the conclusion that I am so much better at cycling when it comes to cheering from the sidelines. In my head I’d actually like to be out there, steaming along, working all those muscles and looking cool. In reality I hate cycling in the wind, not keen if it’s raining much and if it’s too hot – well, forget it. This means there are exactly 4 days a year when cycling conditions are optimum for me. And 2 of those are probably when Le Tour is on.

But, I have discovered the perfect cycling for me, more my style and less sweaty! I have been getting out and about on my vintage bike. I bought this beauty a few years ago and have finally got it out on the road in all its glory. I believe it dates from around 1910 although I have no idea what make it is. But it has all the vintage accessories I need - detailed leather saddle? Check! Real stringed skirt guard? Check! The scariest brakes ever? Check! And a basket for dog/cat/ginger ale? Check!

I have tried to do some research on similar bikes and found a very interesting piece on suffragettes hurling themselves in front of Winston Churchill on their bikes. I assume this was a deliberate act of protest rather than a complete lack of braking ability. Seriously though, the link between the rise of cycling and the emancipation of women is both interesting and well documented. More information here.  

Arty shot of bike by postbox

Back to my bike - my brother recently checked it over for me, replaced the single handgrip with a pair of new period ones and did what he could to shiny it up. I also got a brand new basket!

An authentic 'Coventry Gear Case Co' Atlas saddle - still going strong and pretty comfortable!

I have this vision that in a few years time I will be the eccentric old lady peddling around the village in a big hat and talking to myself (I’m not quite there yet, thank you very much!) and in the meantime I have been checking out various vintage cycling groups. Apparently there are other people out there who enjoy dressing up and getting out and about on vintage bikes. I think I may have found my cycle niche at last! Go Girl Power :)